Eastern Michigan Athletics
Thursday, March 27
Austin, Texas
All Day
Eastern Michigan University
at
Texas Relays
Track & Field Slated to Open Outdoor Season With Trio of Meets
3/25/2025 12:49:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
The Eagles will compete at the Texas Relays, Bobcat Invitational, and Raleigh Relays
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University track & field programs are set to open the outdoor portion of its 2025 season with a trio of high-level meets Thursday-Saturday, March 27-29.
The Eagles are set to attend the Texas Relays, hosted by the University of Texas at Austin, at the Mike A. Meyers Stadium and Soccer Field, in Austin, the Bobcat Invitational, hosted by Texas State University, at the Texas State University Track & Field Complex, in San Marcos, and the Raleigh Relays, hosted by North Carolina State University, at the Paul H. Derr Track, in Raleigh. All three meets will run through a majority of the day each day of competition.
All live results and watch links can be accessed on the EMU track & field schedule page. A post-meet recap along with final results will be posted to EMUEagles.com following the last day of competition.
Fans looking to attend the Texas Relays can access full meet information here, for the Bobcat Invitational & Multis here, and the Raleigh Relays here.
RETURNING MAC CHAMPS – OUTDOOR SEASON
The Eagles return Kyra Buffen (Columbus, Ga./Buford-Benedict) and Formula Thompson (St. Catherine, Jamaica/Jamaica College/Nebraska) who both won the triple jump at the 2024 MAC Outdoor Championships. Buffen won the event with a 12.64m (05.75) bound, a mark that stands as the fourth-best in program history. She also became the first Eastern woman to win the event at the outdoor championships since 1999.
Thompson became the first EMU male jumper to win the triple jump at the outdoor championships since United States Olympian Donald Scott did so in the 2015 campaign, as Thompson claimed gold with a 15.57m (51-01.00) jump, a mark that sits sixth in the program top-10 leaderboards.
ALL-MAC RETURNERS – OUTDOOR SEASON
The Eagles return seven All-MAC athletes from the outdoor season.
Women's All-MAC Returners
Kyra Buffen - First Team
Paige Marchant – Second Team
Saraiah Walkes – Second Team
Josephine Oloye – Second Team
Men's All-MAC Returners
Formula Thompson - First Team
Gabe Singh – Second Team
Jake McEachern – Second Team
NCAA EAST PRELIMS RETURNERS
The men's squad returns three student-athletes who qualified for the 2024 NCAA East Prelims in Thompson, who punched his ticket in the triple jump, Kayenn Mabin (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Central) who earned his entry in the 110m hurdles, and Jake McEachern (Lloydminster, Alberta/Lloydminster Comprehensive) who qualified in the hammer throw.
The women return Buffen, who saw action in the triple jump after winning an individual MAC title in the event and Anita Zaro (Timirsoara, Romania/Faculty of Physical Education and Sport) who ran in the 3000m steeplechase.
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
McEachern won the hammer throw (67.32m – 220-10), shotput (15.93m – 52-03.16), and discus (49.22m – 161-05) events at the Canadian U20 Track & Field Championships. Joining him in competing nationally was Thompson, who saw action at the Jamaican Olympic Trials in the long and triple jump. Mabin also earned himself a spot at the USA U20 Track & Field Championships in the 110m hurdles.
2024 MAC OUTDOORS FINISH
The Eastern women placed second with 126.5 points while the men slotted third with 121 points. The women's second-place finish at the meet marked its 11th straight season doing so while the men's marked the 12th consecutive year it has finished inside the top-three. Kent State claimed the women's title with 137.5 points and Akron won the men's, scoring 189.
NEW COACHES
The Eagles have adjusted their coaching staff ahead of the 2024-25 campaign. Chris Best and Sterling Roberts have been promoted to Directors of Cross Country/Track & Field. Best will take on the head coaching duties for the women's team while Roberts will do so for the men's. Sue Parks opted to return to hands-on coaching duties and will serve as an Associate Head Coach while still acting as the Head Women's Cross Country Coach. Eastern added two newcomers to the coaching staff in Austin Whitelaw (distance) and Nia Henderson (throws). Whitelaw comes to Ypsilanti after most recently serving as an assistant track & field/cross country coach as well as recruiting coordinator for the University of Connecticut (2022-24). Henderson brings five years of NAIA coaching experience with her as she oversaw nine NAIA All-Americans at nearby Madonna University. She was also named Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Assistant Coach of the Year in 2023.
Up Next
The Eagles have two meets on the schedule for next week. They will attend the Spartan Invitational, hosted by Michigan State, in East Lansing Friday, April 4, and the Golden Grizzlies Invitational, hosted by Oakland, in Rochester, Mich., Saturday, April 5.
Follow Us
For updates on all things EMU cross country/track & field, continue to check EMUEagles.com or follow the team on Instagram, X, and Facebook at @EMUXC_TF.
The Eagles are set to attend the Texas Relays, hosted by the University of Texas at Austin, at the Mike A. Meyers Stadium and Soccer Field, in Austin, the Bobcat Invitational, hosted by Texas State University, at the Texas State University Track & Field Complex, in San Marcos, and the Raleigh Relays, hosted by North Carolina State University, at the Paul H. Derr Track, in Raleigh. All three meets will run through a majority of the day each day of competition.
All live results and watch links can be accessed on the EMU track & field schedule page. A post-meet recap along with final results will be posted to EMUEagles.com following the last day of competition.
Fans looking to attend the Texas Relays can access full meet information here, for the Bobcat Invitational & Multis here, and the Raleigh Relays here.
RETURNING MAC CHAMPS – OUTDOOR SEASON
The Eagles return Kyra Buffen (Columbus, Ga./Buford-Benedict) and Formula Thompson (St. Catherine, Jamaica/Jamaica College/Nebraska) who both won the triple jump at the 2024 MAC Outdoor Championships. Buffen won the event with a 12.64m (05.75) bound, a mark that stands as the fourth-best in program history. She also became the first Eastern woman to win the event at the outdoor championships since 1999.
Thompson became the first EMU male jumper to win the triple jump at the outdoor championships since United States Olympian Donald Scott did so in the 2015 campaign, as Thompson claimed gold with a 15.57m (51-01.00) jump, a mark that sits sixth in the program top-10 leaderboards.
ALL-MAC RETURNERS – OUTDOOR SEASON
The Eagles return seven All-MAC athletes from the outdoor season.
Women's All-MAC Returners
Kyra Buffen - First Team
Paige Marchant – Second Team
Saraiah Walkes – Second Team
Josephine Oloye – Second Team
Men's All-MAC Returners
Formula Thompson - First Team
Gabe Singh – Second Team
Jake McEachern – Second Team
NCAA EAST PRELIMS RETURNERS
The men's squad returns three student-athletes who qualified for the 2024 NCAA East Prelims in Thompson, who punched his ticket in the triple jump, Kayenn Mabin (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Central) who earned his entry in the 110m hurdles, and Jake McEachern (Lloydminster, Alberta/Lloydminster Comprehensive) who qualified in the hammer throw.
The women return Buffen, who saw action in the triple jump after winning an individual MAC title in the event and Anita Zaro (Timirsoara, Romania/Faculty of Physical Education and Sport) who ran in the 3000m steeplechase.
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
McEachern won the hammer throw (67.32m – 220-10), shotput (15.93m – 52-03.16), and discus (49.22m – 161-05) events at the Canadian U20 Track & Field Championships. Joining him in competing nationally was Thompson, who saw action at the Jamaican Olympic Trials in the long and triple jump. Mabin also earned himself a spot at the USA U20 Track & Field Championships in the 110m hurdles.
2024 MAC OUTDOORS FINISH
The Eastern women placed second with 126.5 points while the men slotted third with 121 points. The women's second-place finish at the meet marked its 11th straight season doing so while the men's marked the 12th consecutive year it has finished inside the top-three. Kent State claimed the women's title with 137.5 points and Akron won the men's, scoring 189.
NEW COACHES
The Eagles have adjusted their coaching staff ahead of the 2024-25 campaign. Chris Best and Sterling Roberts have been promoted to Directors of Cross Country/Track & Field. Best will take on the head coaching duties for the women's team while Roberts will do so for the men's. Sue Parks opted to return to hands-on coaching duties and will serve as an Associate Head Coach while still acting as the Head Women's Cross Country Coach. Eastern added two newcomers to the coaching staff in Austin Whitelaw (distance) and Nia Henderson (throws). Whitelaw comes to Ypsilanti after most recently serving as an assistant track & field/cross country coach as well as recruiting coordinator for the University of Connecticut (2022-24). Henderson brings five years of NAIA coaching experience with her as she oversaw nine NAIA All-Americans at nearby Madonna University. She was also named Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Assistant Coach of the Year in 2023.
Up Next
The Eagles have two meets on the schedule for next week. They will attend the Spartan Invitational, hosted by Michigan State, in East Lansing Friday, April 4, and the Golden Grizzlies Invitational, hosted by Oakland, in Rochester, Mich., Saturday, April 5.
Follow Us
For updates on all things EMU cross country/track & field, continue to check EMUEagles.com or follow the team on Instagram, X, and Facebook at @EMUXC_TF.
Players Mentioned
Jumps
/ Women's Track & Field
Hurdles
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track & Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Men's Track & Field
Jumps
/ Men's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
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